


Go High

by afangirlsplaylist



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Darts, M/M, Making Out, Mentions of alcohol, Romance, rhink, soft rhink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 13:37:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14190114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afangirlsplaylist/pseuds/afangirlsplaylist
Summary: The boys have a guy's night after Link decides he wants some practice with his dart throwing. It starts at a sports bar and ends somewhere neither of them were expecting.





	Go High

“My aim is horrible.” Link complained, throwing another dart at the board with little hope. 

Link’s voice rang out over the noise of the bar, before he took a long swallow of beer. They’d ended up here after filming was over for the day, planning on downing a couple of drinks and getting some practice in on an actual dartboard. It’d been a long day, and when Link had suggested they hit up a sports bar, Rhett hadn’t argued.

“We just need some practice,” Rhett assured him, taking his own dart and throwing it at the board. It landed smoothly three rings away from the bullseye, causing Link to groan.

“It’s just embarrassing.” 

He made to throw another of his own darts before Rhett held out a hand to stop him. 

“First of all don’t throw a dart while you’re upset because you’ll stab someone in the eye.” Rhett said, half joking and half serious. “Relax, let me try something.”

When Link looked at him in confusion Rhett rolled his eyes. “Just… come ‘ere.”

Before Link could ask any questions Rhett put his drink down and wrapped his fingers around the wrist Link was holding his dart with, standing at Link’s back.

“Where do you want to aim?” 

In answer, Link raised the hand Rhett was still clutching, letting it move to where he wanted before stopping.

“Okay.” Rhett nodded. “I’d probably go here.”

He guided Link’s hand a little across and an inch down, stopping when he was satisfied.

“Half-way?” Link asked.

“Half-way.” 

He carefully maneuvered their aim somewhere in between where they’d both have thrown, before Link felt his hand being guided back and shoved forward, launching the dart out of it. It landed with a thud in the green area around the bullseye, fully embedded in the felt.

“Yeah!” Link yelled happily, turning to his left and high-fiving his friend.

Rhett grinned and took another swig of his beer, watching Link grab another dart. “You wanna try that again?”

This time Link maneuvered himself a little closer, putting his back against Rhett’s chest to give him access to his arm. He couldn’t help but feel the eyes of other people in the bar on them while he settled against his friend’s chest, but he ignored it as he focused on the board. He could feel beard tickling the side of his face as Rhett leaned over his shoulder, raising Link’s arm up like he was throwing the dart himself.

Link took back some control by lifting his hand a little above where Rhett had placed it, his instincts telling him he should go higher.

“You wanna go high?” Rhett asked.

Link nodded, squinting his eyes to better envision the path the dart would follow.

“Then go high,” Rhett told him, already pulling Link’s arm back again.

There was a pause before Rhett told him to let go - and as one they let the dart fly, watching it sink into the board. Their victorious yells joined the lively sounds of the bar and Link beamed when they saw the dart embedded in the felt of the bullseye. Jumpy with giddiness, Link turned and gripped Rhett in a hug, who returned it without hesitation. Letting out a low, loud, full belly laugh - Rhett let him go and watched with a smile as Link settled back against him and faced the board with renewed determination. 

Gifted with a rare guy’s night, neither of them had anywhere to go or anyone to look after for the first time in a while. So they soon lost track of the passing hours and the amount of liquid that had gone down their throats. They let the bitter taste of the alcohol wash over them until neither of them had decent aim or control, giving themselves to the night. Link gave up his darts first, leaning against their table and tapping his foot to the music. He was just getting into it when Rhett walked back over with their next round of drinks.

“We haven’t done this since…” Link blinked, trying hard to remember the party at Big Bear from a couple of months ago. “Bear.” He finished lamely.

Rhett chuckled. “Well we got all night, wanna try somewhere else?”

Link scrunched up his face at the thought of getting in a car to another bar again. 

“We’re old man.” Link groaned, his words punctuated by a loud hiccup. “And d’unk.” 

“You wanna head back and get food?”

Link downed what was left of his drink and slammed it on the counter. “Yep.”

“You too ‘d’unk’ to get us an uber out of here?” Rhett grinned, as Link waved him off with a hand.

“I got it.” Link promised.

They were laughing and stumbling out onto the curb when their uber rolled up, before sliding inside. In their current state, they were thankful that their driver, a friendly man in his 20s with a stubble of beard, didn’t seem to know who they were. 

“Good night?” He asked, glancing at them in the car’s mirror.

“Yeah, it was great,” Rhett answered.

He didn’t notice their driver's curious glance and raised eyebrow as he subconsciously leaned in to lean an arm around Link’s shoulders. Or when Link turned to whisper in his ear halfway to the studio.

Rhett had already ordered pizzas on his phone by the time they’d arrived, so they stood to wait near the studio’s entrance - talking about nothing in particular. By the time they’d brought the pizza up to their office, it was still wonderfully hot, and they quickly began wolfing it down - groaning in enjoyment. 

Three slices in, Rhett had pulled a guitar out from the loft and they were singing into the empty office, jamming like they hadn’t in a long time. Their voices were raw and a little gruff from alcohol, but eventually, the music and their bellies full of food worked their sobering magic. It was a shame, Link thought - that they didn’t get to enjoy music like this much anymore since they were always so busy. They just didn’t have the time to hang out like this as much anymore. Sure, they saw a lot of each other, and involved music in as much of what they do as possible - but it wasn’t the same. It was always so scheduled and rushed, never allowing them room to breathe.

Their vocals eased off into a soft hum and gentle guitar strumming somewhere around 1 o'clock in the morning. The lateness of the hour wasn't lost on them but neither wanted to call it a night yet, unwilling to give the night up to morning.

“I could still use some practice.” Link suggested, his mind wandering back to darts now that he could think clearly. “You want a game on the actual map?” 

“Only if you put it away again.” Rhett conceded, putting his guitar aside. 

In truth, Rhett probably would have agreed to anything that meant the night wasn’t over, but he feigned reluctance until Link nodded. 

“You’re on.”

Wandering through the empty studio, they rolled the board out from the storage space downstairs, distracted briefly by the memories of a few old props. It took a little time to drag themselves away from the piles of it all, but eventually they'd had the board back in the middle of the set floor.

Leaving Rhett to gather the darts Link surveyed the map - his eyes drifting over Canada by the time Rhett walked back over. Knowing better than to pass Link something sharp while he wasn’t looking, Rhett eased Link’s hand open and placed the dart in it - settling in his now familiar position against Link’s back. 

“I swear when I’ve got the hang of this board you are so going down.” Link joked, turning his head to face Rhett as he spoke. 

But he hadn’t accounted for how close their faces would be when he turned, blushing and looking hurriedly when he saw Rhett’s mouth inches from his. Clearing his throat, Link returned his attention to the board, defiantly fighting exhaustion. 

That’s when he felt Rhett’s head resting softly on his shoulder, and his best friend’s hand wrapped around his again. Maybe it was because this was Rhett, or because he was tired - but it was comfortable, Link admitted to himself. Even a little cozy in the empty studio. Especially as Rhett’s other hand was now resting lightly by his waist. 

In fact, Rhett barely guided his hand at all this time. It was more like his friend was gently holding his hand as Link aimed and launched the dart, watching as it landed just on the edge of Australia.

“Was that what you were aiming for?”  

“Yup.” Link told him, grinning sleepily. 

For the next few throws, Rhett didn’t bother helping him at all, though he stayed settled against Link’s back. He simply watched as Link landed all but one of them, smoothly spraying the darts around the board.

Link was about to grab for another dart when he felt Rhett’s arms wrap a little more closely around his waist, holding him. It felt soft and warm to be held like that and Link let his arm go loose at the feeling, the darts forgotten. 

“You think you just about got it now?” Rhett asked in a low whisper, and Link felt beard nuzzling his shoulder at the words.

“Mhm.” Link sighed, leaning back a little.

In response, Rhett’s hand began rubbing lightly at his arm. “Getting sleepy there Link?” He said in amusement. “Didn't know it was past your bedtime old man.”

"You're older than me, brother.” Link retorted, turning his head to shoot Rhett a cheeky grin.

Rhett retorted by playfully teasing a few of the silver hairs dangling from Link’s forehead. "Whatever keeps your grays away.” 

They laughed as Link reached behind him to try and half-heartedly swat Rhett off, giving up when they fell into silence.

Link let his head fall back and rest in the nook between Rhett’s head and shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment. “I’m not tired though. Just comfortable.”

“Yeah?” Rhett questioned, though he didn’t expect an answer. 

Link only opened his eyes when he felt Rhett’s finger curling under his chin, turning Link’s face gently toward his own. He didn’t do anything more but Link took the hint, turning in toward Rhett’s chest and rising up slowly to meet his lips. 

They almost gasped when it happened. 

Instantly Link felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest, and the tension in every one of his muscles had relaxed. An age could have passed but Rhett was still kissing him, cupping his jaw and letting his soft beard brush against Link’s jaw and neck. All that mattered was that it kept happening, and Link held him by the back of the neck to make sure it did. 

There was so much he wanted to say. So much he knew Rhett wanted to say. He could tell by the insistence of Rhett’s lips and tongue, as if his friend was trying to let them speak for him. But they didn’t talk. They  _ couldn’t  _ talk. All they could do was keep kissing. Keep touching. 

It was all such a tangled blur of passion that Link didn’t know when his hands had wandered to Rhett’s hair, nestling in the curls as Rhett tugged him closer. But he couldn’t help the soft sounds of bliss escaping him at the feeling of the curls under his hands and the large hands lightly squeezing at his waist and thigh. 

Both of them were so lost in it that they could see and hear nothing but their breath and heartbeats for several seconds, before finally realizing they weren’t kissing anymore. 

“Probably not what we thought would happen tonight huh?” Rhett finally said, causing Link to playfully thump him and step back. 

“Nope. I just thought it’d be better.” Link joked, and he was still laughing as Rhett grabbed him and lifted him onto the GMM desk.

“I’ll show you better,” Rhett growled, and then his lips were against Link’s again - right where they were meant to be.

 

**_Finally._ **

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love :) please leave one <3
> 
> and a special thank you to my beta theaveragebear! :D


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